Micromax aims to redial mobile mkt, make gains

NEW DELHI: Micromax, one of the erstwhile success stories of the Indian mobile phone industry, which was washed out after the entry of Chinese players, is trying to make a comeback. As the government encourages local as well as international companies to expand smartphone manufacturing in India based on the Rs 41,000-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, Micromax is hoping to make gains as it is confident of making a cut into the scheme.
Rahul Sharma, one of the company’s founders, said Micromax will be investing Rs 500 crore as it plans to re-enter the smartphone category and even launch new devices from October. “We had made mistakes the last time around, including not having a robust R&D set-up in India,” Sharma told TOI.
Micromax had at one point of time become a dominant force in the Indian mobile phone business with turnover exceeding Rs 10,000 crore. However, being late in bringing in new technology and unable to meet Chinese brands in pricing and quality saw its downfall.